April and Cub
by Flynne
Summary: Epilogue to the 2k3 Season 1 episode, "Lone Raph and Cub". When Raph returns home that night, his brothers are sleeping, but someone is still waiting up for him.


April rubbed her gritty eyes, blinking hazily at the city map in front of her. She and Leo had made progress in planning the search for Splinter, laying out a grid over the city and making an educated guess of how much ground they could cover each night, and how much April and Casey could do during the day.

She pushed her chair back and stood, stretching to shake off the clinging drowsiness that weighed down her eyelids. The thought of coffee was tempting. The caffeine would definitely help perk her up, but she knew she'd pay for it later. Before she could come to a decision, though, she heard the door to the lair open and turned to see Raphael making his way inside.

"Hey, there you are," she greeted him with a smile. "I was wondering when you'd get back; it's nearly four in the morning." But as he came closer, she saw his scuffed and dusty appearance and her smile became a worried frown. "Raph, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered.

She wasn't convinced. "You've been in a fight." Raph lifted his head, a little surprised at the observation, but April just rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. After all this time, you think I can't tell?" She stepped away from the table and walked to meet him. "What happened?"

Raph didn't answer right away, glancing around for signs of his brothers. "Where are the guys?"

"They're asleep," she replied. "I promised I'd stay up and keep an eye on the monitors if they got some rest." _And to wait up for you_ , she didn't add. She tilted her head towards the bank of televisions at the end of the room. Most of them were turned on, but instead of TV shows, they displayed various views from security cameras that Don had scattered through the sewers and the surrounding neighborhood. So far, the cameras had caught three stray cats and a wayward raccoon…but no sign of Splinter.

Her brows knit in concern as she looked Raph over. Beneath the dirt and drying sweat on his face, she could see bruises darkening the deep green of his skin, and she was pretty sure the broad smudge on his plastron was a boot print. "Raph, will you please tell me what happened?" she asked again.

For a moment, she thought he'd refuse, but then he sighed and nodded. "Yeah, okay. Mind if I get some ice first?"

"Go ahead." She watched him disappear into the kitchen, relieved that he didn't seem to show any signs of a limp or other obvious injury. The drowsy fog clinging to her thoughts had completely evaporated. She hopped down into the sunken living area, heading for the couch.

Raph didn't take long. April's brows rose a little when he emerged from the kitchen holding a flexible gel ice pack against his head, but she didn't comment. He sat down heavily, letting out a sound halfway between a growl and a groan. "Okay, here goes," he said, drawing out the words on a sigh. "I guess I thought I was gonna look for Master Splinter, but I couldn't really look right away. Just had to run. Blow off steam, I guess. Anyway, I was passing by this alley when I saw these goons down there, prowlin' around with flashlights. It looked hinky so I stuck around. Turns out it was a good thing I did." April listened in astonishment as Raph told her about how he'd met up with a little boy and helped him save his kidnapped mother from the hideout of an organized crime gang. "…So anyway, once we got his mom free, I could see again," he finished. "I followed 'em to make sure they got to the police station okay, then came back home."

April gave a disbelieving huff of laughter. "Well, you've certainly kept yourself busy." Her humor faded quickly though, and she leaned forward to see his face more clearly. "Losing your sight, though…Raph, that's pretty serious, and it sounds like you couldn't see for quite a while. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm a little dizzy still," he confessed, "and I've got a killer headache. But it ain't blurry anymore."

"Will you at least look at me so I can see your eyes?"

He grimaced a little but obliged without complaining. April scrutinized the amber irises for any asymmetry, but aside from the soot from the flashbang grenade smudged across his face, he seemed all right. "Well, you look okay," she said after a moment. "That little boy sure is lucky you came along."

"Yeah, I guess. He ain't a bad kid." Raph slumped back against the couch, tossing the thawing ice pack on the floor. "At least _someone_ found who they were lookin' for tonight," he muttered dejectedly.

April sighed sadly. Raph's escapades that night had evidently burned away his anger, but the sorrow and worry remained. He was aching and exhausted, shoulders hunched and curled in on himself, looking smaller and more forlorn than she had ever seen him. Raph was tough, a force of nature, it was true…but he was also fifteen, and desperately worried about his father. So after a moment of careful deliberation, April reached out and gently put her arm around his shoulders.

She wasn't sure how he'd react. Although Raph had accepted - possibly even welcomed - her occasional hugs in the time she'd known him, she'd never stayed in his personal space for long. Unlike Mikey, who enthusiastically accepted any hug he could get from her or from his family, she'd observed that Raph seemed to prefer limited contact with most people. So she left him room to pull away if he wanted…but to her shock, Raph willingly turned into her embrace, pressing close to tuck his head into the pocket of her shoulder.

April concealed her surprise, though, and responded by holding him more tightly, heedless of the soot and sweat and dirt. "We'll find him, Raph," she said softly, shifting a little so she could hug him with both arms.

His reply was so quiet she could barely hear it. "I hope so."

She rested her cheek against the top of his head. "I know so."

If Raph doubted her confidence, he didn't say anything. He just leaned a little closer and shut his eyes.


End file.
